Consumer Awareness

By the numbers 38 States Report – Just 38 states require licensed child care providers to report fatalities to state officials. Child care centers in 12 states and home-based providers in 11 states are not required to report fatalities. There is also no federal reporting requirement. Source: Why Aren’t We Outraged? Children Dying in Child Care Across America, Child Care Aware of America 4:1 Staffing Ratio – National standards recommend that there be one care…

Finding affordable and safe day care has become a major challenge for working parents. Recent studies show that child care now exceeds the annual median rent in almost half of all states, straining already tight budgets to the breaking point. But money means nothing if little Johnny or Judy doesn’t come home safely at day’s end. Serious inconsistencies in licensing, enforcement and training have created dangerous situations where thousands of kids are injured each year…

Campaign Wants Accountability for Generic Drug Makers Take Justice Back is fighting to hold generic drug companies accountable when they cause serious injury or death. Listen to Karen Bartlett’s tragic story and learn about ways you can help make a difference. Stay Informed About Unsafe Drugs Stay informed with drug alerts and recalls, search for approved drugs, and access educational resources on drugs and generics – including online alerts and podcasts – from the U.S….

By the numbers 2 to 4 Million Hurt – Between 2 to 4 million Americans suffered serious, disabling or fatal injuries after using prescription drugs in 2011, based on estimates from data issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Source: QuarterWatch May 2012, Institute for Safe Medication Practices 80 Percent Generic – Even though nearly 80 percent of all prescriptions written in the United States are filled with generic drugs, the U.S. Supreme Court…

You probably never think twice about filling your prescriptions with generic drugs. They are much cheaper than brand-names, and they perform exactly the same as the original, right? But what if something goes terribly wrong like it did for Karen Bartlett when she took a generic painkiller for shoulder pain? Soon after, two-thirds of Karen’s skin began shedding off. Or Kira Gilbert, who took the generic Darvocet in advance of knee surgery and never woke…

Question: Can a person be successful in a product liability case if he or she did not use a product properly or in accord with the directions on the product? Rich: They certainly may be, yes. And obviously the extent to which a person did not properly use a product may become an issue and may give rise to contributory negligence or assumption of the risk. But what we often see is that a product…

Question: Do I need to have the product to file a product liability case? Rich: For all practical purposes, yes. And I certainly caution consumers to keep and preserve any product that they believe have caused them injury as a result of any defective design. That’s unquestionably the most important aspect of any product liability case. The product is going to be evaluated by us and our experts to determine why the product was defective…

Question: With respect to motor vehicles, what type of incidents might give rise to a product liability case? Rich: We certainly see these cases arising out of what are often just the very basic types of traffic accidents that occur on the highway everyday. You have to keep in mind that vehicles are known and expected to be operated at highway speeds, which in many instances, especially when you get out into some rural areas,…

Richard Burke, a partner at Clifford Law Offices, has a great deal of experience in the area of product liability law in sorting through complex cases that involve when something goes wrong with a product. Which can be anything from unsafe BBQ lighters to children’s games. He spends much of time handling motor vehicle liability cases involving rollovers of SUV’s that can be caused by defects in tires, seats and airbags. Rich was an Assistant…